What do we use OSS data for?

“Where is all the knowledge we lost with information?”
T. S. Eliot.

We all know OSS hold lots of data. But why? What is the knowledge gained from the information?

I believe there are five main types of data that are essential for true business intelligence:

1. Operational data – the near real-time data that allows the organisation to track how efficiently it is functioning
2. Network performance – the near real-time network usage, health and performance information, including service health (eg SLAs or NLAs)
3. Marketing data – the information that identifies real customer usage, needs, knowledge and how that in turn is used to plan and create the products that will service the customer needs
4. Customer relationship data – in the world of commoditisation of telco products, it is in the field of customer service that empires can still be built. Customer service is built on people and process but measured by CRM data from the OSS/BSS
5. Asset tracking data – knowing what you’ve got, where it is and by cross-referencing with network performance data what state it’s in